NOTES FOR VISITORS: Welcome to the Alaska Outdoors Supersite forums! The contents of our forums are viewable by anyone, and may be read by clicking the forum headings below. To post in the forums, you must register at THIS LINK. To upgrade or change your membership, please login and select Upgrade > Supporting Membership. Your account will now be managed separately from the forum system. Forum login is separate from account management but shares the same username and password.

IMPORTANT: If you cannot log-in, please reset your password using our new 6 character format through THIS LINK and click Forgot Password. An email message with a reset link will be sent to your email address.

The biggest sale in the history of our company! 40% off everything in the store. That's literally hundreds of books, maps and DVDs focused on Alaska hunting, fishing, and other outdoor topics! We're making a major change in the store, and we need to clear out all our inventory. This is the lowest price you've seen on these Alaska outdoor books, maps and DVDs. Take your time and look through our inventory, because once it's gone, it's gone! This sale is limited to the stock we have on the shelves. Everything is shipped USPS Priority, so if you order now, we can get it to you in time for Christmas. https://alaskaoutdoorssupersite.com/alaska-store/

Bleeding Halibut

There is an other thread about bleeding salmon that I did not want to hijack, so will ask question here. What have you found to be the best way to bleed halibut? I cut at the ? mark. Some times this works good and other times not as well. I have been told to keep salt water in my fish box as the salt helps the bleeding. Any thoughts on this?

I just lift the gill plate and cut straight through the gills on each side or sometimes just one. In the fishbox if it fits. In the water beside the boat if it's a big'un.

Salmon...just stab straight through the gill plate, both sides like they taught me working/volunteering at the hatchery for the last ten years. The cut is with a spear point blade going in parallel to the fish body like their mouth is when shut. Bonk once right behind the eye near the top of the head, stab, bleed out in water, gut fish, get it cool, keep it cool, fillet it, bag it, freeze it.

One of the processors in Petersburg told me that the main artery is near the spine on the white side, he said a small cut near the tail is sufficient to bleed them. I usually cut and break the tail and it bleeds them well.

One of the processors in Petersburg told me that the main artery is near the spine on the white side, he said a small cut near the tail is sufficient to bleed them. I usually cut and break the tail and it bleeds them well.

The main arteries go through the gills... If you shot a moose would you cut him in the hind hocks to bleed him..???? cut your fish in the gills...!!!! that processor is probably still rolling on the pier laughing at you...!!!

Probably wouldn't cut a moose in the tail to bleed it, but no matter how long i search I can't find any gills on a moose either. Did you read what I said, the processor said the best way to bleed them is at the tail. I'll take a guy who has a lifetime of experience cleaning and processing halibut's opinion over some dude on the internet that thinks moose have gills anyday.

The main arteries go through the gills... If you shot a moose would you cut him in the hind hocks to bleed him..???? cut your fish in the gills...!!!! that processor is probably still rolling on the pier laughing at you...!!!

One of the processors in Petersburg told me that the main artery is near the spine on the white side, he said a small cut near the tail is sufficient to bleed them. I usually cut and break the tail and it bleeds them well.

This is what I do also.
A friend and two other of his buddies, plus his boy went fishing near Flat Island. We each caught our limit on a beautiful morning, and both fish I caught I immediately placed on a stringer after cutting near their tails, and let them bleed out in the water. The other guys hauled theirs in and threw them in the cooler. When we cleaned them in Seldovia ($11!), the difference in meat clarity was apparent, and I pointed it out to them as I filleted. Unfortunately, one of the fish was a jelly, but nonetheless, bleeding any fish is a major step in meat quality. To do less is really a waste and disrespecting the resource IMO.

I stick a fillet knife right through the artery behind the gill plate and then do a cut on the tail. Works better than cutting the gills. It is also best to lay the fish dark side down and flip the around with every fish you put in the box so they bleed out best.

"Ya can't stop a bad guy with a middle finger and a bag of quarters!!!!"- Ted Nugent.

[QUOTE=270ti;981696]Cutting a halibut at the tail is the best way to bleed them.

Tail and it also stopps them from flopping hard, but it does bleed them, Object being not to blead out fast so the worms follow the blood trail and are back inside the guts by the time ya clean them.
If ya are worried about that little bit of extra protein, young worms are clear, older ones are brownish.

I had a friend from Maine show me how he did it, by cutting the tail off. Man, talk about turning on the blood spout, that's a huge vein that pumps it out fast, way more blood than the gill plate. Kind of ruins the pictures though with no tails.